Both the market place and the patent literature provide examples of devices which not only support a bicycle in upright attitude but also serve as anchors to which the bicycle can be secured, as by a locked chain, cable or other high strength steel member.
Exemplary is the disclosure in U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,609 granted to Edward A. Kaufmann on June 19, 1973 for Bicycle Lock.
Another form of bicycle stand comprises an elongated concrete block with a median vertical slot to receive a bicycle wheel and retain the bicycle in vertical attitude. Cast into the block, usually at the end of the block adjacent the pedal sprocket, is the shank of an eye-bolt with the eye projecting outwardly from the block. In this form of device, the security chain, or cable, is anchored by threading it through the eye. While the eye-bolt construction makes it convenient to lead the chain therethrough, it has been found that from the security aspect, eye-bolts leave much to be desired. A long, heavy bar with one end passed through the eye and fulcrumed against the block often provides sufficient leverage to rupture the concrete gripping the shank and to withdraw the bolt from the block.
In another form of commercially available device, the stand again comprises an elongated block of concrete provided with a median, vertical slot to retain the bicycle wheel and hold the bike in upright posture. The locking chain is secured in a registering pair of horizontal holes on opposite sides of the vertical slot. While this construction permits the use of a short chain, it presents considerable difficulty in installing the chain since one end of the chain must first be threaded through one horizontal hole, thence through the spokes and finally through the opposite hole. Then, the other end of the chain must be passed through the spokes so that both ends of the chain can be brought together to receive the lock.
In addition to the foregoing, there are numerous other types of bicycle stands and racks to which a bicycle can be chained while being held in vertical position. However, there is still considerable room for improvement in the art.